Festive hunt: Christmas Day 1993 is a Saturday, so The Irish Field actually hits the streets on the morning of Christmas Eve. The front page contains the headline “Happy Christmas To All Our Readers” and three-quarters of the page is covered by a Peter Curling picture. It shows a wintry scene of a huntsman on horseback crossing a stone bridge over a stream.
The left side of the page has a box with a list of the highlights of the issue, including cards and form for Leopardstown and Limerick on St Stephen’s Day Sunday, and declarations for Leopardstown and Limerick on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, plus declarations for Monday’s meeting at Down Royal.
Ring tops Naps: After the last domestic racing of 1993, it’s a happy Christmas for Neville Ring, who wins the Saturday Nap table, and a prize of £700. It’s his third success in the competition. Over the year, he has tipped 36 losers, but the 12 winners, including Harcon last Saturday at 4/1, give him a score of plus £20.57. This puts him £4.17 ahead of Peter O’Hehir, who tips 16 winners and 33 losers. Bob Kelly is third. Second wins £300, and third prize is £200. There is no prize for Pat Keane for finishing fourth, but he does have the “honour” of tipping the most winners - 19. The contest of sponsored by bookmaker Sean Graham.
The final table is published in its usual slot at the beginning of the racing section. Beside it is Ring’s regular weekly column and this week he writes about the Tote. He notices that the Tote will be providing an “inter-track” facility next week so that punters at Limerick will be able to bet on the Tote on races at Leopardstown. But not vice versa!
A Racing Board spokesman tells Ring: “The Leopardstown punter has no interest in Limerick”. Ring is disappointed and dumbfounded: “The Leopardstown punter had plenty of interest in what was on offer outside of Foxrock when the Paddy Power shop was open!”
Year in review: The year of 1993 is reviewed, country by country, in articles by regular correspondents.
Cliff Noone writes a month by month review. The highlights are:
January: The Racing Board closes the Paddy Power shop at Leopardstown; Michael Kinane turns down the offer of a job as first jockey to Sheikh Mohammed so Michael Roberts gets it instead; Glencloud wins the Ladbroke Hurdle and Royal Derbi wins the Irish Champion Hurdle.
February: Jodami and Mark Dwyer win the Hennessy Cognac Irish Gold Cup. Finance Minister Bertie Ahern announces the Budget. The VAT on bloodstock is reduced by 0.2% to 2.5%.
March: Cheltenham has six Irish-trained winners. Granville Again wins the Champion Hurdle, and Jodami wins the Gold Cup. Another winner is the bloodstock industry as Chancellor of the Exchequer Normal Lamont gives his Budget and decides that owners can register for VAT.
April: the Grand National is declared void after a false start. John White on Esha Ness passes the post first. Peter Scudamore retires. Charlie Swan wins his first Irish Grand National on Ebony Jane.
May: Zafonic and Sayyedati are Guineas winners at Newmarket while Barathea and Nicer win the Guineas at the Curragh. John Berry becomes champion point-to-point rider.
June: Michael Kinane wins the Epsom Derby on Commander in Chief, trained by Henry Cecil. Intrepidity wins the Oaks. Commander in Chief does the double at the Curragh with Pat Eddery on board. At Royal Ascot, arguably the highlight is the Cork and Orrery Stakes. College Chapel, trained by Vincent O’Brien, wins and the trainer himself leads in the winner, with Lester Piggott in the saddle. It is only one day after the death of Lester’s father, Keith.
July: Michael Kinane has another big race win riding Opera House in the Eclipse Stakes. Wemyss Bight takes the Irish Oaks. Dermot Weld has 10 winners at Galway, bringing his career total to 99.
August: Market Booster wins a Group 1 in Germany, the first Irish-trained Group 1 winner this season. Turtle Island wins the Heinz 57 Stakes. Ezzoud springs a surprise to win the Juddmonte International at York.
September: More Group 1 action. Muhtarram wins the Guinness Champion Stakes, and Lemon Souffle and Lester Piggott win the Moyglare. Also at the Curragh, Vintage Crop wins the Irish St Leger, and Manntari wins the National Stakes. At Doncaster, Bobs Return is a popular St Leger winner. Sir Michael Sobell dies, aged 100.
October: Urban Sea wins the Arc, ridden by Eric Saint-Martin. Also at Longchamp, Lavinia Fontana wins the Prix du Petit-Couvert, a first win in France for Con Collins. Goffs have excellent results at the Orby Sale. Michael Kinane reaches a record 115 flat winners in Ireland before flying to Hong Kong. Denis Brosnan concludes his term as Racing Board chairman but now heads a transition committee before the start of the new Racing Authority in 1994.
November: Vintage Crop, trained by Dermot Weld and ridden by Michael Kinane, wins the Melbourne Cup, becoming the first horse trained in the Northern hemisphere to do so. Noone writes: “The feat of the century it may well have been.” Another long-distance winner is Arcangues, trained by Andre Fabre, who wins the Breeders Cup Classic. Pat Eddery is champion jockey in Britain and Henry Cecil champion trainer, though Richard Hannon trains more winners. Mallow racecourse is to get “a mammoth financial injection”.
December: Michael Kinane keeps winning, and rides Winning Partners to win the International Bowl at Hong Kong. Cahervillahow wins the Durkan Chase at Punchestown. At the Moyglare Dinner, Turf Club Senior Steward Sam Waller announces that, starting next season, race cards will show weights in pounds only.